Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin – Georg Nigl

Georg Nigl and Alexander Gergelyfi present Die schöne Müllerin in a version that is quite different from what we usually hear. Thanks to the use of a Tafelklavier (square piano) built around 1810 by Carl Withum, the baritone says he has “renewed his experience of singing the Lied,” as the piano’s range of timbres opens up new perspectives.

Since the publication of Schubert’s famous song cycle in 1824, the way the work is interpreted and received has changed drastically, due to the power of modern grand pianos’ sound and the exponential growth in the size of concert halls. Whereas in Schubert’s time, the intensity of expression and the power of the words themselves took precedence, “to such an extent that one might think the instrument—that is, the accompaniment—becomes the starting point of the musical message,” says Nigl, who decided to add and recite Wilhelm Müller’s texts that were not set to music, notably the prologue, the epilogue, and a few other poems. Following in the tradition of the “Liederspiel” (song play), which was very popular in 19th-century Berlin salons, Nigl and Gergelyfi offer a profoundly renewed listening experience.